She pecked him on the cheek. “I missed you too.” Pulling away, she turned to me. “George dear,” she said, taking his hand. “This is Jackie Howard. Jackie, this is my husband.”
George looked uncomfortable as he sized me up. After all, how exactly do you greet someone who just lost her entire family? Nice to meet you? We’re happy to have you? Instead, George held out his free hand for me to grasp and muttered a quick hello.
Then he turned back to Katherine. “Let’s get the luggage and go home.”
***
Once all of my suitcases were packed into the bed of the truck, I climbed in the backseat and dug my iPod out of my jacket. George and Katherine were chatting quietly about the flight, so I pulled on my headphones, not wanting to hear any more of their conversation. As we drove farther away from the city and deeper into the country, I became more upset. We were surrounded by green fields and hills that dipped up and down along the pavement, but without the tall, proud buildings of New York City, I somehow felt exposed. Colorado was beautiful, but how was I ever going to live here?
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the truck pulled onto a gravel road. In the distance, I could see a house at the top of a hill, but just barely. Was all of this land really theirs? When we got to the top, I realized that it wasn’t a single house; it looked more like three homes put together. I guess you need a lot of space for twelve boys.
The grass desperately needed to be mowed, and the wooden front porch could have used a paint job. The lawn was covered in toys, probably the younger boys’ handiwork. George hit one of those small clicker-thingies that was clipped onto the visor, and the garage door started to open. A bike fell over, followed by a few more toys, which blocked the truck’s way into the parking spot.
“How many times do we need to tell them to clean up after themselves?” George grumbled to himself.
“Don’t worry, dear. I’m on it,” Katherine said as she unbuckled her seat belt and slid out of the car. I watched as she moved the mess so her husband could pull in. When the car was finally parked, George let the engine die, and we sat in the dim silence. Then, he turned around in the front seat to face me.
“You ready, Jackie?” he asked. He looked me over and frowned. “You’re looking kind of pale.”
Of course I looked pale! I had just flown halfway across the country with a woman I didn’t know because my family was gone. On top of that, I was going to have to live with twelve kids, all of whom were boys! This wasn’t exactly a top-ten day for me.
“I’m fine,” I said, muttering my automatic response. “Just a little nervous, I guess.”
“Well, the best piece of advice I can give you ’bout my boys”—he began while unbuckling his seat belt—“is their bark’s worse than their bite. Don’t let ’em scare you.”
How was that supposed to be reassuring? George was watching me, so I nodded my head. “Um, thanks,” I said.
He gave me a small nod and then got out of the car, leaving me alone to compose myself. As I stared out the windshield, quick images started to flash before my eyes like the pages of flipbook: my parents in the front seat of our car teasing one another, my sister in the backseat singing along with the radio, the flicker of another car, and the wheel spinning out of control. Then twisted metal, red. It was the nightmare that had been keeping me up since the day my family died. Now, apparently, it was here to haunt me during the daylight hours as well.
Stop! I screamed to myself and squeezed my eyes shut. Just stop thinking about it. Gritting my teeth together, I opened the door and hopped out of the car.
“Jackie!” Katherine called. Her voice drifted through an open door at the back of the garage, which led to what must have been the backyard. Slinging my carry-on over my shoulder, I emerged into the sunlight. At first, the only thing I saw was her standing on a pool deck, waving at me as the sun glared into my eyes. But then I saw them in the water. They were splashing and goofing around—a completely shirtless bunch of gorgeous guys.
“Come here, honey!” Katherine said, so I had no other choice but to join her on the deck.
I climbed up the wooden steps, hoping that my clothes weren’t rumpled from the flight, and unconsciously moved my hand up to smooth out my hair. Katherine was smiling at me as two young boys stood next to her, clinging to her pants. Must be the youngest set of twins, I decided before turning to face the rest of the group. Much to my discomfort, everyone was staring at me.
“Boys,” began Katherine, breaking the silence, “this is Jackie Howard, the friend of the family your father and I told you about. She will be staying with us for some time, and while she’s here, I want you all to try your best to make her feel at home.”
That seemed like the opposite of what they wanted. All the boys were staring at me like I was a foreigner invading their own personal country.